Receptacle



April 24; 1951 c. F. FITZGERALD RECEPTACLE Original Filed Nov. 14, 1946 Inventor Charles F Fitzgerald By his Attorney Patented Apr. 24, 1951 RECEPTACLE Charles F. Fitzgerald, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application November 14, 1946, Serial No. 709,703. Divided and this application November 13, 1948, Serial No. 59,907

Claims.

This invention relates to receptacles, and is herein illustrated as embodied in a receptacle for stacking work pieces such as insoles, or other shoe parts.

In the operation of certain shoemaking machines, such as those used for splitting soles for example, soles are fed into the machine at the front thereof, where the operator stands, and usually are discharged behind the machine beyond the normal reach of the operator. In order to eliminate the danger and inefficiency of leaning over or walking around the machine, it is desired that the finished soles be returned to a place conveniently located with reference to the operator's station. In one prior machine ofthis type, as disclosed in the Hood Patent No. 2,319,324, granted on May 18, 1943, a rotary disk is arranged to receive the soles after they have been operated upon, reverse their direction of motion and transfer them into a receptacle adjacent to the operators station.

An improved sole handling or transfer device of this type forms the subject-matter of my copending application Serial No. 709,703, filed on November 14, 1946, of which this application is a division.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved receptacle adapted to receive work pieces from a machine, or from a transfer device, and stack them in orderly fashion, giving consideration to the need for accommodating soles of various sizes and providing access to the soles for purposes of removing them from the receptacle.

In accordance with one feature of the invention, the illustrated receptacle is provided with a pair of converging side Walls and a second pair of end walls, the walls of each pair being relatively adjustable to permit the space bounded by them to be varied according to the width of the soles to be stacked therein. In the illustrative receptacle, one side wall and one end wall are adjustable, the other wall of each pair bein fixed.

Preferably, and in accordance with another feature of the invention, the adjustable side wall is constituted by a flexible shield which may be deflected into any desired degree of convergence with the other side wall, whereby the soles are guided by the funneling action of the walls into an orderly pile as they are collected in the receptacle. Access to the soles, by which their removal from the receptacle is facilitated, is furthered,

in accordance with another feature of the invention, by arranging the above-mentioned shield so that one end thereof is spaced from the adjacent end wall throughout the height of the receptacle. This construction provides an opening which permits the operator to grip the pile of soles conveniently and to lift them freely out of the receptacle.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully understood from the following specification, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, f

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an illustrative receptacle embodying the invention, the receptacle being shown as applied to a splitting machine, and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1, the section being taken along th line II--II in Fig. 1. j,

For purposes of illustration, the present recep tacle is disclosed herein as applied to a sole splitting machine of the general type of which. the machine disclosed in the above-mentioned Hood patent is an example. This type of machine has a table It along which soles S are advanced by a roll 12 toward a knife M for removing a skiv-j ing from the lower side of the sole. The soles S are discharged from the splitting mechanism onto a transfer device which forms the subject-matter of, and is claimed in, my above-mentioned prior This device comprises a rotatingapplication. disk It which reverses the motion of the soles and discharges them in a direction opposite to that of their feeding movement into a receptacle 18 which is fixed (by connections not shownlto the frame of the splitting machine beside the splitting mechanism Where the operator, who normally stands in front of the table ,I 0, can easily reach and remove a pile of soles fromthe rece tacle Withoutmoving or leaning from his normal,

position.

Extending from the lower side of the disk 16 is}. a shaft 251 which is arranged to turn freely in an arm 22, fixed to the frame of the splitting machine, or otherwise supported so as to hold the disk slightly below the level of the table It and close to the rear edge of the knife I4. 8,, upon being discharged from the splitting mechanism, are projected onto the disk which is rotated at a higher speed than that of the feed movement of the soles so as to avoid any tendency of the soles to accumulate behind the knife L, The disk It is driven by a belt 2 5 which runs over] a pulley 2E fixed to the shaft 25?, the belt being driven by another pulley 28 Idler pulleys 3|! and. 32, mounted on the arm 22, are arranged to direct The soles theruns of the belt pulleys 25 and 28 which are at right angles to each other. The pulley 28 may be driven by any suitable means, such as a rotating shaft 34, which corresponds to the countershaft 8| of the above-mentioned .Hood machine.

A guard 36 is mounted over the disk It for the purpose of controlling the movement of the soles during their travel onto the disk, during the period when their movement is reversed, and following that, the discharge of the soles into the receptacle 3. This guard comprises straight runs 38, 40 disposed parallel to each other and at opposite sides of the disk, these runs being connected to and continuous with an arcuate run 42 which conforms to that half of the rim of the disk l6 which is remote from the splitting mechanism. The lower and operative position of the guard is determined and can be adjusted by a screw 59, which is adapted to bear against the frameof the splitting machine. This screw is threaded in .a strut 5.2 which is :fixed to a plate 54 arranged to connect the straight runs .38, AS, and to ower that half of the disk it which is .adjacent to the splitting mechanism and the receptacle l8. The soles .S are discharged from the splitting machine onto the disk is beside the run .38.. As they reach .the arcuate run 42 and their turn ng movement begins, thesoles pass beneath a finger 64 which is mounted on the run 82 and yieldingly holds the soles against the disk. While the soles arestill under the influence of the finger 64 they move "beneath a ,plate 8.2, which also is mounted on the run A2 .for parallel movement with re spect to the disk and is yieldingly urged toward the disk;

By the time that a sole will have passed from beneath the plate 82, the reversal of its motion will nearly have been completed. 'lDuring the period of reversal the .finger 64 and plate .82, by holding the soles against the disk, not only insure that the soles will be moved according to the speed of the disk,.but also .overcomeany tendency of V the soles ,to be retarded by rubbing against the arcuate run 42 owing to the effect of centri'iugaliorce. A narrow arcuatepla'te 104i, fixed to the run 42 near its upper edge, extends between the plate 2 and the plate 5.4 so as to prevent soles Ircmrisingout of the guard .durin their travel through this portionof it.

For a more detailed description of the transfer devicereference may bemade to my above-mentioned prior application.

In the. normaloperation .of the .device the soles S are .dischargedirom the disk 7 l6 tangentially thereof under the guidance of the straight run 40.. ,.At this time the soles .are also moving at sucharate as .to be projected throughspace into the receptacle I8. At any abnormally lowspeed of discharge from the disk, the soles are guided by a plate [016 which .is integral with the runiiii and .is disposed slightly below the upper surface 01' the disk. Under .the .same conditions a wall [08,, whichjust clears .the top of the disk and is fixed to zthe plate 54la1tits lower side, further .insures that the soles will be directed properly toward the receptacle 1.8.

V The receptacle comprises an .inner side wall lf'lli, .a fixed end wall H2, and an outer wall JIM, all.of which extend downwardly to a bottom El I6 whichisintegral with theabove-mentioned walls. Fixed to the end-of the wall H4 adjacent to the guard 33 .is-aflexible shield .8 which, in eiiect, is ,ancadjustable side wall and a continuation of 2d properly between the 4 the straight run 40. All the above-mentioned Walls extend heightwise from the bottom H6 to a level somewhat above the disk IS. The shield H8 is adapted to be flexed by varying amounts, to provide a converging space for the reception voi soles of .diffierent widths, bya screw I20 which is threadedin theiouter wall I I4.

The efiective length of the receptacle l8 can be a controlled by adjusting a second end wall or stop [22 with respect to the end wall H2. This stop is arranged to be fixed in any desired position by abolt 134 which is received in an elongated slot L26 formed in the bottom H6. The stop has an llppersectionflli which is bent to form a horizontal flange l3!) normally disposed somewhat below the levels of "the disk I6 and the upper edges ofthesidewallls H0, H8 and end wall H2. The flange and side walls cooperate to form a chute for directing the soles into the receptacle. Provision for adjusting the height of the flange 13!] .is aiiorded by a bolt .132 which extends through a vertical slot J34 formed in the stop I22.

The soles S, as they move into the receptacle, willsettle intoan orderly stack under the funneling action .andla'teral guidance of the converging side walls 1.10, 118, and under the endwise guidance of the end walls I12 and I22. It will be evident from Fig. 2 that the bottom IIB .of the receptacle is .disposedat a level .far enough below that of the disk to permit .a conveniently large pile of .soles to be collected before their removal from the receptacle becomes necessary. Owing to the fact that the side wall H4 and the shield U8 terminate short .of the end wall J12 (Fig. .2), a space is provided through which .the operator will have unobstructed access throughout the height .of the receptacle for gripping a stack ,of soles .as they are removed from the receptacle.

Having thus described .my invention, what ;I claim as new and desire to protect .by .Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Arecentaclefor receiving and stacking work pieces .as they are projected toward it, said receptacle haying converging .side walls which are relatively adjustable to vary the effective width of the receptaoleand end walls one ;of which is adjustable toward and away from the other, said adiustable end wall having a flange arranged to extend away .fromlsaid other end wall below the level .of the upper edge thereof.

,2. A receptacle for receiving and stacking work pieces as they are projected toward it, said re ceptacle having converging side walls, a fixed end wallarranged to arrest the movement of the work pieces toward the receptacle, and an adjustable end wall at the end of the receptacle through which the work pieces are received, the end vof one .of said side walls adjacent to said fixed .end

wall being spaced from the last-mentioned wall thereby to provide anopening .for permitting access throughout the height of the receptacle to the soles stacked therein.

v3. A receptacle for receiving and stacking Work pieces as they are projected toward it, {said receptacle having fixed :end and side walls, adjustableend and side wallsopposite to said fixed-end and .side walls respectively, .said adjustable side wall comprising .a flexible shield, and means for variably deflecting said shield into converging relation to said fixed side wall.

.4. A receptacle :for receiving and stacking work pieces as they are projected toward it, said receptacle having an end wall arranged to arrest movement of the workpieces toward thejrecepta- I cle, a second end wall mounted for adjustment toward and away from said first-mentioned end wall, and opposed side walls, one of which comprises a flexible shield arranged to converge with the other side wall, the end of said shield adjacent to said first mentioned end wall being spaced therefrom thereby to provide access to the work pieces throughout the height of the receptacle.

5. A receptacle for receiving and stacking work pieces as they are projected toward it, said receptacle having converging side walls, a fixed end wall arranged to arrest the movement of the Work pieces toward the receptacle, the end of one of said side walls adjacent to said fixed end wall being spaced therefrom to provide access through- 5 2,359,852

out the height of the receptacle to the work pieces therein, a second end wall having a flange arranged to extend away from said fixed end wall below the level of the upper edge thereof, said flange being mounted for adjustment upon said second end wall heightwise thereof.

CHARLES F. FITZGERALD.

I REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Morse Oct. 10, 1944 Number 

